Clamp



F.-L. H. SIMS. CLAMP.

1,882,024. l l l l PatentedJune2L1921,

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tMMTEQ inlhh FATENT @Fpwi CLAMP.

Application filed April 20,

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, FREDERICK L. H. till-iis, a subject of the King of Great Britain. and a resident of the city ot Toronto, in the county of York, Province of ntario, lllanada, hai/'e invented certain new and useiul improvements in Clamps, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to a clamp particularlyadapted ltor use as a rail anchor, and my object is, iirst, to provide ay device in which the leverage of the abutment, when the clamp is used as a rail anchor, acts to cramp the retaining part ot the device against the upper and lower surfaces of one side o' the rail base, and thus cause the resistance to slipping to increase with increase of the pressure tending to cause slipping; second, to provide a device which, when assembled for shipment, lies very Hat and is in eliect a one-piece article; third, to provide a device which will contain a minimum weight oft' material; fourth, to provide a de vice which may be cheaply made; fifth, to provide a device which may be designed vwith any desired area of abutment without unduly affecting the cost, weight or ease of shipment; sixth, to provide an abutment which will not injure the tie.

l attain my object by means of the constructions hereinafterdescribed and illus` trated in the accompanying drawings in which* Figure l is a sectional view of my irn-A proved clamp along the plane oit theE side ot the eramp bar connected with the base of a railway rail;

2 a plan view of the same, the rail being indicated in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 a cross section of the same on the line 0,-@ in Fig. 6 showing it in position on a rail. and engaged with a tie;

Fig. d a plan view of a modified form oit reach bar; Y

'Fig'. 5 Va perspective view showing another modification of the reach har;

Fig. 6 a. sectional view oi a modification along the plane oi'y the side oi the crainp bar and in which the cramp bar and abutment are integrally formed; and

Fig. 7 a cross section on the line a-a/ in Fig. 6.' A

ln the drawings like numerals of refer ence indicate corresponding parts in the dilierent figures.

The clamp comprises three parts, areach Specification of Letters Patent.

4is insured.

Patented inne 2l, 1921.

ieee. serial no. 375,319.

bar l, a cramp bar 2, and a wedge key 3, but these parts are so arranged as will hereafter appear that they may be temporarily engaged so that they may be shipped as ii they were but one piece, which is an important teature of my construction. y

@ne end of the reach-bar is adapted to engage the flange of a structural metal member as shown. Preferably a hook 4 is formed on the end of the bar adapted to engage the flange, and this hook is preferably provided with a lip 5 adapted to overhang to hold the roach bar in position during the attachment of the device.V This lip is prei?- erahly very short to render it unnecessary to provide any large amount of lost motion in the fastening device.

A tthe other end of the reach bar is formed a hook or narrow slot 6 the inner sides oi which lie in planes substantially normal to the iiange of a structural member with which the device may be engaged. The reach bar is preferably formed of a metal bar bent upon itself. to form the slot, as shown in Figs. 9 and 5. lt is further preferred that the roach bar be ot ill-shape, the tree end oteach part being provided with a hook 4f. as indicated in Figs. l and 2.

lfnstead of forming the hook l integral with the reach bar, l may bend the reach bar upon itsel't as indicated at 7 in lig. 5 to form a hook or slot, and employ my fastening` device therewith as at the other end of the reach bar.

The fastening device comprises a cramp bar 2 which is of small thickness relative to its lneadth and has a notch formed in one edge adapted to engage over and wedge upon the flange of the structural metal member as shown particularly in Figs. l and 6. The notch .is so proportioned that normally it will `engage the upper and lower surfaces of the flange oi' the structural metal member before the edge of the tlange comes in contact with the bottom of the notch, so that a tight grip of the cramp bar on the flange l't is evident therefore that any pressure applied to' the cramp bar tending to rock it on the flange will give the cramp bar a cramping action on the flange, thus giving` it a bite on the flange which is designed .to cause its resistance to slipping to always exceed the pressure tending to cause the slipping. position by means of a wedge key 3, which engages between the cramp har and the This cramp bar is wedged inouter end of the slot in the reach bar. To enable the wedge key to be driven from above and to prevent displacement of the reach bar away from the flange or rail base, it is desirable that the reach bar have an engagement with the cramp bar such as will resist such movement. ln Fig. 6 where l show an abutment 10 integral with the cra-mp bar, the abutment is offset to bring its face into proper position to engage the side of a railway tie, and this offset forms the shoulder 11 on which the reach bar rests. So that the downward pressure at the outer side of the cramp bar will not rock it on the flange or rail base, the cramp bar is extended inwardly under the rail base as shown in Fig. 6. The wedge key is then easily driven without improperly displacing the parts. This, however, is the more eX- pensive form as the crainp bar should be of a high grade steel. f Usually, therefore, it is preferable to for the abutment 10 of a separate piece as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, so that theV wedge key will have a bearing along its whole length no mattei' how far it may be driven. This separate abutment is secured to the cramp bar by means of a rivet 12 so that the connection is a pivotal one. This may permit of a slight rocking movement of the one part on the other, if necessary, so that the abutment member is sure to lit up closely in Contact with the under side of the reach bar as the wedge key is driven. The rivet is pref erably set close to the upper edge of the abutment member and serves to support it on the cramp bar, so as to prevent any buckling of the abutment member when the wedge key is being driven to prevent injury to the surface of the ties, which is particularly important inthe case of ties treated with preservatives. l round the edges of the abutment at the side next the tie and bend back the lower end as shown so that the abutment will ride easily on the tie, if there be any relative movement of the two. Tn order that the wedge may be locked when driven, l provide the upperouter end of the cramp bar with a lip 13 which is readily deformed or upset over the wedge key to hold the same down in position after it is driven.

lll/*hen the device is being shipped, the loose parts will be driven into position in the slot in the reach bar, being frictionally held therein by the springing of the sides of the U-shaped bar so that they will not accidentally become displaced. With the short hook or slot shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the cramp bar and wedge key may be frictionally held in place by engaging at opposite ends of the slot.` The device is thus in effect for shipment a one-piece construction. Further, it will be noted that the parts lie very flat, lying principally in two dimensions, their extension in the third dimension being very small. This greatly economi/Zes space in manufacturing and in shipping and reduces transportation charges, and also saves time and labor in insta-lling. These two points of saving of space and of time and labor are two of the most important to be considered in the rail anchor business. It will be seen that the device in other respects will attain the objects of my invention as set out in the preamble to this specilication.

lhat l claim as my invention is :w

1. A, clamp comprising a reach bar adapted at one end to engage one edge of a flange of a structural metal member and having Va hook or slot formed at the other end with its inner sides lying in planes normal to the surface of said Structural member; acramp bar passing through the slot and having a notch formed therein adapted to wedge over the adjacent edge of the aforesaid iiange;l

and a wedge key adapted to be driven between the cramp bark and the outer end of the slot. f

2. A clamp constructed as set forth in claim 1 provided with a laterally extended abutment on the lower part of the cramp bansaid abutment forming a shoulder supporting the'reach bar.

3. A clamp constructed asset forth in claim 1 provided with an abutment pivoted on the lower part of the cramp bar against the side thereof, said abutment forming a shoulder supporting the reach. bar.

4. A clamp constructed as set forth in claim 1 provided with a separate abutment secured on the lower part of the cramp bar against the side thereof, said abutment forming` a shoulder supporting the reach bar.

5. A clamp comprising a reach bar formed of an integral bar doubled on itself to form a key bearing at the bend and having hooks formed on its free ends extending parallel to the key bearing and adapted to engage one edge of a flange of a structural steel member; a cramp bar passing between parts of the reach bar and having a notch formed therein adapted to wedge over the adjacent edge of the aforesaid flange; and a wedge key adapted to be driven between the cramp bar and the key bearing.

G. A clamp constructed as set forth in claim' provided with a laterally extended abutment on the. lower part of the cramp bar, said abutment forming a shoulder supporting the reach bar.

7. A clamp constructed as set forth in claim 1 provided with a lip at the upperouter end of the cramp bar adapted to be upset to prevent the withdrawal of the wedge key.

Signed at Toronto, Canada this'lth day of April 1920.

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